The Princess and the Lion
by wazzabinho
Summary: Ron gets detention and he meets someone that will change his perspective of the war and the world. Ron/Daphne. Rated M for language and later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello! I have decided to write this new story! I hope you enjoy it! I will continue to post once a week, I still don't know about my other story I might put it up for adoption.**

 **J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter, not me.**

* * *

 **Chapter 01**

Dust. All that one could see in the room was dust. Dust gathered around bookshelves, around chandeliers, in the very air that inhabited the room. The floorboards creaking at every step, the wood fragile due to the lack of use and the lack of care. The books that lived in the bookshelves, long forgotten, laid askew with dust and several cobwebs hanging. The dark drapes that the windows were covered with were also covered in dust, making the room darker to the naked eye.

Ronald Bilius Weasley could feel the dark magic in the air as he stepped forth into Grimmauld Place, the ancestral home of the Black family. Ron stepped through the main door just behind his younger sister Ginevra—Ginny to everyone—carrying his trunk in tow.

Ron had grown several inches in the summer, towering over all his brothers now. His clothes were hand-me-downs from his five eldest brothers, thus making the clothes ill-fitting to him. His ankles were displayed as he walked, his sleeves rolled up as they did not reach his wrist. He had learnt to not complain about the clothes as he grew up, silently wishing that new clothes his size came his way in the future.

As he walked into the house he could see that the premises had only been inhabited in recent days. Sirius Black had only been there for a couple of days, and since the home was hidden to the world through the Fidelus Charm. He also felt anxious as he looked back towards one of his best friends, Hermione Granger.

In the last year he had discovered a growing feeling towards his best friend. It was different that he had ever felt before and he had begun to think that she felt the same way towards him. The Yule Ball "debacle"—as he liked to call it—had been a nice indicator. He had also noticed the stolen looks that he was receiving from her and how shy she suddenly became around him. He did not know how to feel about this, thinking that he had nothing in common with her other than the rows they always had. Ron had started to realize that maybe the row they had over the Yule Ball was over jealousy he had, and maybe thought that it was natural to like his best friend. He was confused for sure.

"Ginny and Hermione will share a room upstairs and Ron will share with Harry when he arrives", Sirius Black—the infamous "escaped murderer"—received them with a quick hug and a smile, waking Ron up from his thoughts. Ron only smiled and went upstairs along with the girls, who were whispering behind him.

Ron arrived at his room and was appalled at the dust gathered in the room, the bookshelves that seemed endless, and the darkness of it all. He approached a drape and opened it, removing the dust accidentally, inhaling some and coughing a little bit. He looked outside to look at all the clueless muggles that could not see the house and smiled.

"Harry would love this", Ron whispered as he remembered his best friend.

Ron had been sad at the prospect of not writing to him over the summer as much as he had promised. He knew the conditions that his best friend lived in and knew that Harry would be mad when he found out his best friends were here before him. They knew little of the Order of the Phoenix but had received orders from Albus Dumbledore to not write to Harry. They trusted Hogwarts' Headmaster with their lives, so they followed orders.

Ron left is trunk next to a cot bed that was laid on one side, another one for Harry. He started to inspect the room and look through the heavy tomes to see if anything caught his fancy. Dusting some of the dust gathered there as well as taking some of the cobwebs away. His thoughts were interrupted by a cough and he turned around ready to act but saw Hermione on the door with her arms crossed, her bushy hair wild as ever and a smile that made him nervous.

"Sorry to bother you Ronald but they are calling us for dinner" Hermione said and turned around, obviously trying to give her hips a little sway as she left in order to entice Ron.

Ron smiled at her obvious attempt to flirt and had to admit he was a little shocked that Hermione had done that since it was not something she usually did. Maybe talking with Ginny gave her that idea, and she wanted to try it out.

* * *

Several days pressed on and Harry had joined the group in order to spend his birthday along with the Weasleys, his godfather—which coincidentally was Sirius Black—and other members of the Order. As Ron had expected, Harry had been furious to not be in the house the previous week, but they had calmed him down a bit. Harry was getting angsty, thinking the world was against him, which at the moment Ron had to admit it probably was.

"Calm down mate…" Ron said to Harry as they both stayed up the night before returning to Hogwarts.

Harry's hearing in the Ministry had just passed and Ron could feel that Harry was furious.

"Don't tell me to fucking calm down Ron! I have no idea why _any_ of this is happening to me! I did magic because I saved my fucking whale of a cousin! I am _not_ guilty of anything and I almost get _expelled_ of school because I did the right thing? I don't want to fucking calm down!" Harry started and was raising his voice as he finished.

Ron knew that his best friend was getting explosive so he stood up from his bed and walked to him and grabbed him by the shoulders.

"I _fucking_ know that mate but you have to calm down! Worrying doesn't help and also taking out your anger on _us_ because we are not at fault here!" Ron said to Harry harshly whilst shaking him lightly.

Harry seemed to deflate at this and went to sit on his cot bed and put his hands on his face, rubbing behind his glasses obviously tired. Ron knew Harry had continuous nightmares and talked to no one about them, but he did not want to press on.

"Sorry mate. It's just not fair you know? I am going mental here!" Harry said as he looked up at Ron from his place.

"No, you're not going mental. Not more than usual though" Ron said smirking wanting to lighten up the tension, which he noted he did as he saw Harry twitching a smile.

"Let's get to sleep since your mum will be waking us for school tomorrow" Harry said as he took off his glasses and laid down on the bed.

"Hermione will kill us if we sleep in though" Ron said as he laid on his bed and covered himself with the sheet. He smirked at the thought of his mum and Hermione ganging up on them, sometimes it scared Ron how similar Hermione and his mum were.

"Sure, _you_ bring up Hermione before sleeping you wanker" Harry said and even though Ron couldn't see his face he knew a smirk was in place.

"Fuck off Potter!" Ron said, his ears red as he heard Harry chuckle lowly.

"Sorry mate it is just so obvious sometimes it pains everyone in school to see or hear you bicker" Harry said looking at the ceiling pointing absentmindedly at some black speck he was seeing, just to entertain himself.

"I don't know how I feel about that one Harry" Ron said and turned around looking at the window, looking at the stars above.

Hermione was being a mystery to him, and he was not sure that he wanted to solve that one since his heart was not really in it. He was flattered of course that the smartest witch he knew was interested in him and seemed to fancy him. But in Ron's mind he saw her as a sister, one that had gotten attractive but that his heart loved as a blood relative.

"If nothing happens then nothing happens mate, don't stress about it" Harry said just before leaving the speck alone and covering himself with his quilt and yawning loudly.

"You're right. Thanks Harry. Just for that I will say nothing when you fart uncontrollably tonight. What would the Prophet say if they knew the Boy-Who-Lived had intestinal problems at night? What would my dear sister think?" Ron laughed and yelped as a pillow hit him in the face, which in turn made him laugh harder.

Harry was laughing as well, well over his own troubles and glad to be having normal teenager conversations. He admired Ron and esteemed him since he was his way to remember that he was a teenager and that he had to live his life more instead of worrying. He was glad to be back where he belonged and to be back with his real brother.

* * *

The train ride was interesting to say the least. Ron was a prefect to everyone's surprise, even himself. He felt bad when everyone showed shock that he had gotten the badge in the mail, even Hermione was shocked. It was supposed to go to Harry, as usual, but he had to admit it felt good for once to beat the Boy-Who-Lived for once. He knew it was wrong to feel good about that but he could not help it.

The prefect meeting went on and on for a while, Ron not really paying attention since Hermione was there. Hermione would later do a summary of the meeting for him.

After the meeting they went back looking for Harry and were surprised to see him with Neville, Ginny, and Loon…Luna Lovegood. He felt weird around her, he had always felt that way since they knew her from childhood. But otherwise, the train ride went without a hitch. Malfoy was the usual dick he was and came to threaten Harry as usual, but he was told off as usual.

"Can't you see them?" Harry said suddenly whilst they walked towards the carriage.

"See what?" Ron asked, thinking that Harry couldn't get crazier than as of recently.

"The creatures pulling the carriages" He pointed at them and started to go towards them.

Harry seemed out of his mind putting his hand out into the air, reaching nothing. He backed away and looked at them.

"They always have pulled themselves Harry" Hermione said whilst going unto a carriage.

Harry seemed skeptical as they sat down next to Luna and Neville. Ron came along and sat quietly as he thought of ways to put his best friend at ease. This was not going to be an easy year for him at all.

* * *

Potions class came with a relief after the Defense Against the Dark Arts class with the new professor. She was crazy thinking that students could learn only by theory, and what annoyed Ron the most is that he was awful at theory. He had even preferred the teachings of last year's professor—and he had been a Death Eater in disguise. Harry had even gotten a detention on the first day because he stood up to that hag Umbridge. Ron was shocked to say the least, and even thought that Potions class would be better now.

As class continued he noticed how Hermione would often bump into him "accidentally" and give him coy smiles. Ron was getting a little annoyed at her behavior, seeing as Hermione was not usually like that with him. He needed to talk to her before it was too late and he hurt her feelings. Ron smiled back and continued to work on his potion, distracted by Hermione's ministrations from time to time. He did not notice his potion blubbering up and red smoke coming out of it.

"Mr. Weasley I would love for nothing more than to live until tomorrow, you almost murdered the entire class with your carelessness. Thirty points from Gryffindor and detention with me for two weeks" Snape said as he vanished Ron's potion and left towards the Slytherin side of the class to admonish another student for doing the same, whilst not taking points from her.

" _Fuck_ " Ron thought as he groaned and looked at Harry and Hermione for consolation. Harry was smirking at him and shrugging his shoulders, clearly knowing that Hermione was the cause for Ron's distraction. Hermione on the other hand had an apologetic look on her face and mouthed she was sorry to him.

Ron got a little mad at her for being the reason for his detention but remembered that she had no intention of making him fail, so he passed on the opportunity for a fight with her. Ron turned back to his cauldron and started cleaning it.

* * *

The next day droned on until Ron's detention with Snape. Ron took his time going towards the Potions master's office, walking slowly and reflecting on his interactions with his friends and fellow Gryffindors.

Seamus was still avoiding Harry, Neville was quieter than usual and Dean Thomas was neutral as usual. Hermione was stuck between a grumpy Harry and trying to get Ron's attention. She was being subtle, but Ron could tell she wanted to grab his attention more than last previous years. He would have to talk to her soon, he just needed a good time and they had to be alone. He wanted to tell her that they could try something and see if there was something between them. Ron kept thinking these things until he arrived to Snape's office and knocked.

"Come in" Snape was heard behind the door, which Ron opened and stepped in.

The first thing that Ron noticed was that he was not the only student in the room. A blond headed Slytherin he recognized as Daphne Greengrass was there as well. She was pretty but she was not the most beautiful girl in school, she looked almost plain and she had a hardened look about herself.

Ron sat next to her in the other chair in front of Snape's desk, his front guarded in case both Slytherins decided to do something about the Gryffindor. They were untrustworthy, all Slytherins were supporting Malfoy and therefore they supported Voldemort.

"You will both serve detention in the Potion's classroom sorting through every ingredient and labeling them according to their weight, their color, their importance, and their availability. I normally do not do detentions together but you both have botched those potions so much that I had to make an exception. Go now!" Snape finished and went back to writing on a parchment.

Daphne was the first to stand up and not looking at Ron she went away. Ron could only follow suit.

* * *

 **A/N: It has come to my attention that the last story was not a realistic Ron or that I wrote him and his interactions too OOC, I hope I can do him justice here.**

 **Thank you for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here is where the story starts to come together a little bit, remember it will be a slow burn but it will bring the story together and the characters closer. Thank you for voicing your concerns in the comments!**

 **J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter, not me.**

* * *

 **Chapter 02**

The light shining through the drapes hit Daphne in the eye in the early morning, making her groan and turn in her bed. It was too early for her sake and she covered her face with her pillow.

"Miss Daphy, mistress says to wake up early to have breakfast with master and other miss" A tiny house elf named Wonky said beside her as the elf opened the drapes.

"Five more minutes Wonks" Daphne said muffled by the pillow, but still understandable.

"Master says now miss Daphy" Wonky snapped his fingers and the pillow flew from her face.

Daphne groaned louder and stood up heading up to the bathroom to prepare, "You're getting sassier Wonks".

Daphne had a quick shower, asked Wonky to dry her hair magically, and looked herself in the mirror.

Daphne did not think herself as beautiful, but she definitely was pretty. She did not stand out in school and that was perfect for her. She had a slim frame, was of medium height, her hair a dirty blonde. Her body was normal, her chest a medium size and her bottom as well. She was as plain looking as they came. Apparently, the assets of the family skipped her and went directly to Astoria, her little sister. Daphne thought her greatest feature were her eyes, which were a gray color, which made her seem aloof from time to time.

Daphne got ready and went downstairs. The ancestral home of the Greengrass family was enormous, but she did not like it one bit. She would prefer to have a smaller home, with warm rooms and a close family. She did not mind only having one sister, but sometimes she wished for more siblings to play or to confide in. Daphne loves his little sister, but as they grew up, they became different and talked less. They still trusted each other more than anyone, they just had different interests in life. Astoria wanted to follow the family business whilst Daphne wanted to become something else, she did not know what but she wanted something different.

Jonathan and Aurora Greengrass were hard on their children. Aurora more than Jonathan, seeing as he wanted to have fun with his little girls but when the time to do business came, he was never in the house only to be seen from time to time. Aurora wanted their daughters to behave like the perfect ladies, seeing as she was brought up that way. Daphne abhorred this and rebelled constantly against her mother, Astoria being the more compliant one. Daphne loved to get her hands dirty, doing actual work, playing outside and just living. Her mother was against this, treating her as porcelain.

As Daphne approached the kitchen she noticed that her parents were dressed for long travel and would probably not take them to the station for Hogwarts. Daphne sometimes loathed that they left them alone in their big mansion, in order to visit other banks in the world.

The Greengrass Company was a banking company that benefitted from both the magical and muggle world. Since they were travelling by muggle plane, they had to leave for prolonged periods of time seeing as they could not travel by portkey.

"Good morning daughter" Aurora said not looking up from the paper, as well as her husband was doing.

"Morning mother and father" Daphne said as she sat down and poked Astoria good morning, Astoria asleep with her eyes open at being called in the morning. She never had been a morning person, unlike her bigger sister who started her mornings early. Daphne liked to have a full day, simple as that.

"We will be travelling to Moscow today so Wonky will take you both to the platform" Jonathan said and he looked at both his daughters with a smile on his face.

"Please be good this year darlings" He said with a wink at Daphne and Astoria, who giggled.

"We always do father!" Astoria said and started to pick up food for her plate.

"I know but it is not bad to repeat it once or twice" Jonathan said and started to eat as well.

"How long will you be travelling and to where…" Astoria started asking, interested in the business, eager to learn more as she would love to work there.

Breakfast progressed with business talk, Astoria learning more and more. After breakfast both parents said their goodbyes to the children and swiftly left to finish packing. No word from their mother throughout breakfast, but they knew that she expected them to behave as the proper ladies they were.

To their mother they were dolls to be sold to the highest bidder, to enter into a marriage contract with wealthy wizards and better the stock of the family. Jonathan thought ill of this and advised secretly to his daughters to pursue their hearts. Aurora had been in talks with several families for when the time came, they could take any of their daughters. This made Daphne nauseous just thinking about it, since she hoped to marry for love.

She wanted a man that was honest, hardworking, and that liked her for herself not her money. Men like that were far and few in between. Blood purity did not matter to her that much but would prefer a pure-blood man because she would have nothing to talk about with a muggleborn or a half-blood. But if that were the case, she guessed she could cope—anything for love.

"Misses ready to leave?", asked Wonky as he apparated at the breakfast table.

Both girls nodded and they went along towards the entrance, their trunks already apparated there.

* * *

The train ride proved to be a little boring for Daphne. Theo and Tracey were recounting their summer adventures as they had traveled together to Tunisia. Theodore Nott and Tracey Davis were Daphne's best friends even before school. They had gone to social events in the same circles and they hung around. They were betrothed since birth and therefore came to an understanding to be friends whilst at school and later they would marry. Daphne was not allowed to leave the country, so she just asked questions of their great travels.

"How was summer Daph?" Theo had asked her.

"Same as usual Theo. I couldn't get out of the country as you so I just tended to my house and my duties as future Lady Greengrass. The odd ball here and there and the common Tea Party. Kill me please!" Daphne said as she buried her face on her hands, wanting desperately to have a different life.

"Don't worry Daph, it will get better…" Tracey started.

"When Trace? My mother wants me to find a man this year to start negotiations! I am expected to marry a snotty man and be his arm candy!" Daphne exclaimed and buried her face again.

"Calm down Daphne! We will help you right Theo?" Tracey said rubbing Daphne's back, whilst looking at Theo to say something.

"Of course, Daph, anything for our friends" Theo said and that earned him a smile from Tracey, and she grabbed his hand to show her thanks.

"Ugh…you guys have it easy already being betrothed. You're lucky Theo is a nice man" Daphne said and smiled at both of them.

The train ride went rather smoothly from there, only hearing Malfoy grunt as he left a compartment to the right after some discussion, but that had become a yearly event.

* * *

"I hate Potions" Daphne lamented as she walked towards the classroom along with Tracey.

Theo was behind them talking with Blaise Zabini about some charm they were struggling to keep up with.

"That is only because you are atrocious at them" Tracey smirked as she entered the classroom and sat beside Theo.

Daphne chose to sit next to them, next to Zabini. The dark boy was civil towards them and kept mostly to himself. Daphne was glad of this since she was not in a mood to talk, and Blaise was actually proficient in Potions. Daphne turned then towards Tracey to keep talking while the classroom filled.

"Then there's also the issue that Snape hates me!" Daphne exclaimed whilst taking out her book for the class.

"He doesn't hate anyone Daph. Maybe just Potter", Tracey said and chuckled along with Theo.

"I am the only Slytherin that he takes points from and gives detentions to! How can you explain that?" Daphne said as she remembered the past instances that this had happened.

Snape was not as open with Daphne's hatred as he was with Potter's, often asking her to stay behind rather than doing it in public. It had started on her first year when she failed to pour some crow's feathers into the potion—a feat that Malfoy had also forgotten to make—and had gotten points off. Then Snape asked her to stay a few minutes behind and she had gotten her first detention. Throughout the following years the same even had happened with various degrees of punishment, often house points as well as weekly detentions. In private Snape had the same tone he used with Potter, which was strange for Daphne. She could not fathom what made her a target of Snape's disdain.

Daphne was interrupted from her musings when Snape entered the class abruptly and stood at the front of the class and started to give out instructions for the first potion they would make that day. It seemed like a review from a potion they did last year. Daphne was trying her best alongside Blaise and seemed to be doing well.

"Hey Daphne, would you like to accompany me sometime to Hogsmede?" Blaise said suddenly, making Daphne look agape at him.

She turned around with such force that she knocked over a dragon's eggshell into the mix, making it blubber and emit a dark red smoke.

"What?" Daphne said her expression surprised, thankful that Snape was admonishing another student whilst this had happened.

"Would you like to accompany me to Hogsmede on the first weekend there?" Blaise said with a hopeful tone, looking at her with a puppy-eyed look.

Daphne liked Blaise as a friend and had not considered him as something more. He came from a foreign pure-blooded family that was wealthy, his mother being a foreign advisor for Egypt's equivalent to the Ministry, an ambassador of sorts. Her mother would certainly approve of them, already hearing her mother's praises she gave Blaise a fake smile.

"Blaise, that would be lovely", Daphne said and turned back to the potion, avoiding Tracey's eye on her.

As she turned around she gasped as she encountered the disapproving face of the Potion's master. His wand pointed the cauldron and the blotched potion disappeared.

"My office this afternoon" Snape said simply and walked away towards Malfoy's cauldron to give him a helpful tip on how to do the potion correctly.

Daphne just slumped in her seat, Blaise looking at her with an apologetic face. Tracey and Theo both had sympathetic looks and turned to finish their respective potions.

* * *

Daphne found herself walking alone towards Snape's office. The afternoon was perfect for walking outside with her friends but her sudden invitation to Hogsmede prevented that from happening. She did not blame Blaise, seeing as he was not at fault for inviting her. She blamed herself for reacting poorly, but the surprise was evident.

Tracey and she had talked about what happened and they had agreed for Daphne to give Blaise a chance. Blaise was polite, handsome, and came from an influential family. Daphne wrote a quick letter to her mother making her aware of what had happened and was already dreading the happy response from her. Her mother would be ecstatic, her father would find out how she really felt when they saw each other. Daphne loved her father more than anyone, they understood each other.

Daphne's father seemed to be the liberal out of both parents, weirdly enough. He came from a long line of tradition and seemed to have no trouble by breaking it from time to time. Jonathan made his daughters laugh, he played with them whenever he could, and listened to them. He had advised Daphne to always listen to her heart, not her mother. He told her the story about the betrothal contract he had been in, and how even though he came to love his wife, he wondered how it would have been to have gone out with his true love.

This was what Daphne was thinking when she almost crashed against Snape's door. She woke herself from her daze and knocked on the door.

"Come in", Snape said from behind the door and Daphne entered.

The smell of the office wafted on Daphne's nose and she scrunched her nose a little bit. The Potions master took his work to his office, and several ingredients had a repugnant smell in the closed space of the office. Snape pointed towards one of the chairs, motioning her to sit down.

"We will wait for another student and we will proceed with the punishment" Snape said not looking up from his parchments.

Daphne only nodded and looked at her hands in order to entertain herself. The hands were calloused from gardening in her house, enjoying the hard work alongside her house elves. They protested against Daphne working with them, but she told them she enjoyed the work and they gladly let her help. She enjoyed getting her hands dirty by either gardening, woodwork, or anything to do with her hands. In secret of course, her mother would be appalled at the idea of one of her precious _dolls_ being roughened up.

A knock was heard and Snape reacted the same way he did with Daphne. Daphne did not look up to that person, only turning a little bit to see who it was as he sat down next to her.

Ron Weasley apparently had detention with her as well. That would be either a disaster or a catastrophe. The Weasleys were known for their hatred to anything green and silver. She tensed beside him as she listened to Snape's instructions.

"You will both serve detention in the Potion's classroom sorting through every ingredient and labeling them according to their weight, their color, their importance, and their availability. I normally do not do detentions together but you both have botched those potions so much that I had to make an exception. Go now!" Snape finished and went back to writing on the apparently _important_ parchment.

Daphne did not wait, only nodded and stood up, Weasley on tow. The boy was taller than anyone in her year so it was not hard to notice her presence behind her. Weirdly enough his steps were quiet, making no sound, as if he often walked without wanting to be heard. They continued along in silence until they arrived to the Potions' room.

* * *

The strength that took Daphne to not vomit whilst smelling some of the ingredients was just enough to distract her from looking at Weasley. The boy had started to sort through the top shelves, the one's that she could not reach and started to sort on a nearby table. All this whilst in silence, which made her nervous.

This was Potter's best friend, the friend of the Boy-Who-Lived. If rumors were true, this wizard beside her was a powerful one, a smart one, and –as the several banters with Granger proved—hot-headed. So, she did not say anything to him and bent down to work on the shelves of the bottom, grabbing a nearby table, and sorting through the ingredients. A sudden crash of glass made her jump and look towards the sound.

" _Fuck_ " Weasley said as he bent down to pick up the ingredients he had accidentally dropped.

They were only oak roots so there was no harm on picking them up or the spillage did not affect the air.

"Need help there?", Daphne said to him in a normal tone of voice.

"No", the boy simply answered in a harsh tone, with red ears, and bent to pick down the roots.

Daphne looked taken aback by the harsh tone and harrumphed, turning back towards her table. Apparently, the stories of his rudeness were true, which disappointed Daphne a little bit since she had also heard that Weasley was one of the funniest and most outgoing persons in their year. His apparent hatred towards her house was evident.

They worked in silence for almost an hour, only sorting through few of the seemingly endless ingredients. If they had worked together they would've done much more, but Daphne did not think that would be possible. She was scared by the sudden clearing of a throat next to her.

"I am done for today", Weasley said not really looking at her, only talking towards the room. With that he left and said nothing more.

Daphne could only stand up and put her work on the shelf, noticing that Weasley had correctly sorted through his side. He was known for being bad at classes, but apparently when concentrated could accomplish things correctly.

It would be a long two weeks of detention alongside a person that hated everything she represented, everything that she was without the intention of being like that.

Maybe if she talked to him, they could finish this detention before the allotted time. Daphne started to feel mixed emotions about the prospect of this idea.

The last emotion she felt was anger. He was a pure-blooded wizard, and no matter his economic standing, he surely had been taught good manners. He had disrespected her and he would hear from her the next day when they met. No wizard treated her like this and got away with it.

* * *

 **A/N: Here is another chapter! This one is in Daphne's POV and the POVs will change throughout the chapter depending on how I write them.**

 **Thank you for reading! Please Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hello guys! Here is another chapter where we can see the start of something. They will not like each other still, but the seed has been planted.**

 **J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter, not me.**

* * *

 **Chapter 03**

Ron left the room hurriedly, not wanting to spend more time in there. He knew that Greengrass had done nothing to their group, but she still was a Slytherin. He had a nagging feeling in him that he had done something wrong to this girl, but he brushed it off. He needed to get this detention done as quickly as possible and carry on with his normal school year.

As he went to the common room he noticed how lonely the school was just before curfew, only the usual first year that was lost. He was a prefect now so he had to do his duties and usher them to their common room. He had forgotten that he had rounds that night with Hermione, maybe he would have the opportunity to talk to her then.

He got to the common room and just plopped down in the first seat he found. He had the beginnings of a headache and just wanted to sleep, but his prefect duties did not let him. He stayed there for a couple minutes not feeling the weight that just had sat down next to him.

"How was detention mate?" Harry asked, making Ron jump a little in his seat.

"Horrible mate I have to do a lot of sorting thorough ingredients. And that's not the worst part! I have to do it with Daphne Greengrass, a Slytherin Harry!" Ron said in a groan.

"Was she mean to you?" Harry asked making Ron turn to look at him. Harry had his hands in his pockets as he sat down, strange, but Ron did not comment.

"Not really. I did not even talk to her. But still Harry, she is a snake and she can't be trusted" Ron said as if it was logical.

"Well, I don't really recall her doing something bad to any of us Ron. She doesn't hang out with Malfoy so maybe she's not that bad." Harry said looking towards the door, starting to wonder about Daphne and her friends.

"Still, I just want to get this detention over with. I don't want to see her again mate, I don't trust anyone from that house." Ron groaned and stood up as Hermione came down, signaling the start of their rounds.

"What are you talking about?" Hermione said, worried about Ron's look. He looked annoyed and tired, but they still had rounds to do.

"Nothing" Ron said and stretched, trying to wake himself up before the rounds.

"Detention Hermione. We both had it and were just comparing our times" Harry said, saving Ron from having to explain.

"What did you have to do?" Hermione asked while she crossed her arms, clearly disappointed in the boys getting detention on the first day.

"Just some lines" Harry said and tucked his hands on his pockets as he stood up.

"Sorting potions ingredients" Ron said as he rolled his eyes and shook his head a little more to try to get rid of the headache.

"That's not that bad" Hermione said with a smirk and looked at Ron with a smile.

"Ready for rounds?" She asked and twirled her hair.

Ron nodded and thought this was out of character from Hermione, she was not a flirty girl. They waved Harry goodbye, as he sat down to rest a little more, and walked through the portrait of the Fat Lady towards the corridor. Ron thought Harry was lucky he got to sleep early, wanting nothing more than to do that too.

* * *

Hermione and Ron were making progress in their round. They had caught some people after curfew, most of them first-years that were lost, so they got only a warning. Other students were older and were snogging in broom closets, which they got detention with their Head of House.

Hermione would admit that she wanted nothing more than to do that with Ron. She had talked with Ginny over the summer and how she fancied Ron, and that Ron seemed to like her too. Ginny said that her brother was stupidly oblivious, so she had to make the first move. She needed to be flirty and a little more obvious for Ron. And that is what she was doing, all the while thinking that she was horrible at it.

Ron of course had noticed this and there was no better opportunity to talk to Hermione than now. He wanted to give it a try and see if he could be invested in the relationship, or if he had just platonic feelings towards her.

"'Mione?" Ron said, suddenly nervous and his hands clammy. He had never done this before.

"Yes Ron?" Hermione asked, hopeful that he had finally caught up to her ministrations. She was tired to pretend to be as flirty as her roommate Lavender.

"Would you like to go to Hogsmede together next time we visit?" Ron asked in a rush, not believing the words that came out of his mouth.

"I would love to Ronald!" Hermione said and went to hug him around his midriff. He was so much taller than her.

Ron hugged her as well but not with that much enthusiasm, he was still unsure on how he and Hermione fit together. Ron and Hermione bickered a lot, but he thought that maybe that was because they liked each other. There was also the thing that Hermione was academically inclined, whilst Ron was not. Ron was beginning to put more of an effort due to the fact that he wanted to become an auror alongside Harry. Hermione and he could sometimes be like oil and water, repelling always, but for some reason it worked sometimes. He was going to test this out next Hogsmede visit.

They continued their rounds until they came back around to the common room. They entered and went together towards the dividing stairwells. Hermione seemed to pause before going upstairs towards her part of the tower and faced Ron with a blush in her face.

"Goodnight Ron" Hermione said quietly getting closer to Ron.

"Night 'Mione" Ron said simply, nervous about Hermione's change of demeanor.

Hermione suddenly rushed towards him and gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek and smiled at him. He smiled back and waved her goodbye, the blush in his face now real. Maybe this would be better than he expected.

* * *

The next day passed as normal, only with the fact that Hermione seemed happy and chatty with his little sister. Hermione did not really have that many female friends, but she seemed to be happily talking with Ginny. They kept looking at him throughout breakfast, making him nervous and red in the face. Of course, Harry and Neville noticed this and were pestering Ron with smirks and snide comments. He did not mind because they were his friends, but he was a little annoyed with Hermione. He wondered if that would come to pass.

Ron sat with Hermione for the next classes, an unspoken agreement that they were seemingly together now. Hermione kept touching his arm or his hand throughout the day and Ron just smiled through it, liking the way that Hermione felt close to him. He was starting to like having her attention and hoped that he did not have a fight with her before Hogsmede.

"I have detention 'Mione I have to go" Ron said later in the day after they were in the common room, Hermione reading and him finishing a Charms essay.

Hermione smiled at him and waved him goodbye, going back to her book. Ron rolled his eyes at the typical Hermione state of things and went along towards the Potions room. He then remembered he had detention with a Slytherin and his demeanor hardening.

He entered the room and found that Greengrass was there waiting for him with her arms crossed, looking mad at him. He frowned and held a defensive stance in case she decided to do something to him.

"We have to talk Weasley" Daphne said to Ron, and became aware of the stance that he was in.

"We have nothing to talk about Greengrass. I just want this detention to be done as soon as possible, surely you would not want to spend more time with me than I with you", Ron said and started to head towards the shelf where he left yesterday.

"No Weasley, not until you apologize to me for acting like a Neanderthal yesterday and had no manners. Surely your mother taught you some, seeing as your brothers have treated me with nothing but respect in the past!" Daphne said and crossed her arms, harrumphing.

"What are you talking about? My brothers?" Ron asked and stepped forward, now curious as to when his brothers had interacted with her.

"They have not done any pranks to me or my friends because we do not hang out with Malfoy, sometimes even helping me when I seem to struggle with a Potions essay in the library" Daphne informed him matter-of-factly.

"They have helped Slytherins?" Ron said aloud, not really thinking about what he said, and looked down embarrassed at having said it aloud.

"They have helped a fellow student Weasley. They do not care that I am a Slytherin. Do house rivalries really matter that much to you that when you see someone struggling you would not help them?" Daphne said, her voice stern and kept walking towards him.

"I am terrible at Potions and Snape hates me, I am just a normal student that wants to do well! I have no intentions to harm anyone, I have no claims against Potter or any other house, I want this war to be over so we can get on with our lives, I want to just live in peace Weasley!" Daphne finished and slumped in her chair, making Ron realize that maybe Daphne was not as bad as he thought. Daphne then went ahead and started to sort through ingredients.

Ron then proceeded to do the same, at the same time thinking about what she had just said. He thought about how his brothers—who hated Malfoy publicly—helped a Slytherin. The more he thought about it, Daphne was quiet and had never noticed her before. He then felt embarrassed on the way he had acted; his mother would have been furious. He had been taught to treat all women with respect, and to be courteous. His brothers apparently forgot about house rivalries, so he got inspired by that.

Ron left the ingredients he was sorting on his desk and approached Daphne. Daphne noticed his movement and looked at him, her blond hair in a ponytail behind her. Her features were guarded and she had a neutral face.

"I am sorry for my earlier behavior Greengrass" Ron said as he extended a hand towards her. He had an apologetic tone of voice, ashamed of how he had acted.

"Apology accepted" Daphne said with a small smile, grabbing Ron's hand. She was shocked at the small pulse of magic that went through her when they touched. Ron apparently felt it too and took his hand back as if on fire.

"We should probably work together on this right? We could finish faster or on time" Ron suggested, going back towards where he was working.

"I was going to suggest the same thing" Daphne said and went over to him, leaving her stuff to sort later together.

"Ron, call me Ron please" Ron said and went to sort the bat wings in size and color.

"Daphne" Daphne smiled and they worked together side by side.

Then the silence drew them in again, uncomfortable not really knowing what to talk about. Ron thought of many subjects but did not know where to start.

"You also hate Malfoy?" Ron asked suddenly, surprising even himself.

"More than anyone in the world" Daphne said, chuckling as she suddenly turned towards him.

"Doubt it. I think he has a personal mission against us. I personally think that he likes Harry and he can't admit it!" Ron said.

Daphne laughed loudly at that, so much that she snorted. That made her stop and blush, covering her mouth. Ron on the other hand thought that it was actually cute how a girl like Daphne could snort. He knew about the pure-blooded traditions and the way that daughters were raised, so he was surprised at that.

"That's horrible Ron. But it would explain so much! I know it is not true since I practically hear from Pansy the things they do. The thought of it makes me sick!" Daphne said still chuckling, working on some frog legs she started to sort.

"I did not have to know that, I will have that scar forever. Thank you!" Ron said indignantly, but with a smile on his face.

"But when you guys beat us at Quidditch that is when he loses it, he forces all of us to sit in the room and hear him complain to his daddy dearest" Daphne rolled her eyes exasperated.

"Why do most people listen to him? If he is a big git, why do people follow him?" Ron asked, finally getting the insight from a snake.

"Most of the people in Slytherin have parents that work in the Ministry. His father can threaten them with losing their job, else they are good to his child. My father works independently so we stay away from politics" Daphne said and helped Ron with some of the bat wings he was sorting through.

"What does he do?" Ron asked Daphne, curious to see what her family was like.

"He is a banker in the wizarding and muggle world. He invests in many companies and makes them more profitable or something like that, I never understood. I don't want to do that when I grow up, so I didn't pay that much attention" Daphne explained to Ron whilst looking at their eyes.

Ron nodded and kept working, not knowing what to think about that. Her family was not working in the Ministry, therefore not following Malfoy's orders. But it still did not mean they were not connected to Voldemort. He had to tread lightly to see any signs of that.

"Chudley Cannons?" Daphne asked suddenly, surprising Ron.

"You're a fan Greengrass?" Ron asked, surprised at the topic of conversation.

"Not in my life, but the Harpies are my team" Daphne chuckled at his crestfallen look, knowing he was a fan, he publicly had admitted this fact.

"I am surprised a lady such as yourself follows the sport" Ron said in a mock-chivalrous manner.

"You'd be surprised at what things I like that are not lady-like" Daphne said and blushed at the implication. She went to work immediately on her last pile for the day.

Ron was astounded by that answer and said no more. Daphne was an interesting girl for a Slytherin, maybe this would not be that bad.

"I am done for the day Ron. See you tomorrow" Daphne said as she put the last glass on the shelf, leaving shortly after.

"See you tomorrow Daphne" Ron said as he placed the glass he worked on alongside the others.

He silently left and was left to wonder about the progress he had made as a person today. He talked amicably with a Slytherin and made her laugh. He had talked to her even though he despised their house and everything they stood for, but he guessed there were some exceptions. With that he remembered Peter Pettigrew and how a Gryffindor became the worst traitor of them all, how a war started because of him. He would try and be like his brothers and look at the other houses as students, not as rivals.

* * *

Ron arrived to the common room to find Harry and Hermione talking. Hermione had a space in the couch he assumed was reserved for him. He had a girlfriend now. Girlfriend? That did not sit well with Ron, still not sure about why he felt like that.

"Hello" Hermione said as Ron sat down and she put a hand on his leg, stroking it a little to comfort Ron from his detention. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and he gave her a smile.

"Hey guys. What are you talking about?" Ron said and sat comfortably on the couch, enjoying Hermione's comforting hand.

He started to feel good at having Hermione like this and thought that maybe they could make it work somehow.

"Harry's detention and how those _lines_ he wrote, he wrote them with a _blood quill_ " Hermione said, her tone harsh with Harry and pointing at his hand.

"What? Mate why don't you tell someone? Anyone?" Ron asked suddenly sitting up to see where the quill had done its work.

"I can't. Umbridge said that since she worked at the Ministry, it's her word against mine. I can't tell a teacher since they would have no power over the Toad" Harry said, exhausted from having to explain and defend himself.

"Mate you don't have to do this…" Ron started but got interrupted.

"It's alright Ron, I will do it just to appease her and try to be more level-headed" Harry said and smiled at his friends.

Ron snorted, "I would _love_ to see _that_!"

Harry kicked him lightly in the leg with a smirk, making Hermione laugh. Harry had been angsty since he got to Grimmauld Place and had _just_ started to be the old Harry again.

The three friends stayed talking until the late hours and went upstairs to their respective beds, thinking on how lucky they were to be happy in such times.

* * *

 **A/N: Another one fresh from the oven! Thank you for reading! Please Review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello! Back from the dead! Here is another chapter of this story that I seemed to have forgotten, but in reality life just gets in the way sometimes. Since it was summer I went to a trip for a couple of months and could not get back into writing. But now with new inspiration and determination, I will finish this story and write sequels, etc.**

 **Thank you to those who read the story and commented that wanted it finished! I will do my best!**

 **If anyone wants to be a beta for my story, I would welcome it with open arms!**

 **J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter, not me.**

* * *

 **Chapter 04**

Blue. But not just blue, the purest combination of blue and grey that Daphne had ever seen. Electric, wide, pure, sky, water, and many other adjectives that came to mind to her.

She did not know how on Earth she had come so close to seeing Ronald Weasley's eyes. She became lost in those orbs that were blue as the sky. Hours seemed to pass, when it was only seconds in reality.

Daphne recalled the events of the day, one that started as dull but somehow ended with her and the Gryffindor boy mere inches from each other…

* * *

Daphne woke up at once, ready for the next day. She had no dreams at all, a little disappointing to her since she loved spending time in Morpheus' realm for a bit. At home, she tended to sleep in until about noon, but on school she had to wake up early in order to get ready and seem like the pureblood lady she seemed to be.

Again, she was envious of other girls for not having to put up a front towards the other students and potential friends. Being a pureblood lady meant having your life drawn according to tradition and your parents. Daphne abhorred that to her core, but still thought that she had no choice in the matter.

With these thoughts she went through the motions of her morning routine. Shower, brushing her hair to perfection, a little make up to accentuate her natural attributes, and then making sure she looked as pristine as a doll. Since Daphne had a medium bust and bottom, she did not care about accentuating anything other than her face. She wanted a body like her sister and mother, but she seemed to be the black sheep in the family, with only her face being the best of her features.

She went towards the common room in order to wait for Tracey and Theo but were surprised to see them already there.

"Morning Daph" Theo said unusually happy, Daphne just noticing that Tracey had a tight hold on him, almost as she depended on Theo to live.

"Morning guys…" Daphne said apprehensively, giving them an odd look before following them towards their first class.

Daphne had the suspicion that something had happened yesterday night. Tracey was not in the dorm when Daphne returned from detention. In fact, she had not seen Tracey at all from her detention onwards. Daphne had too much in her head that it simply passed over her head.

Detention had been _interesting_ to say the least, she recalled and a slight blush covered her own cheeks. Replaying over and over the spark of magic between Weas…Ron, and her as they touched hands. She had read in many magical novels about that surge, and it only made her blush, then her spirits fell a bit thinking that Ron probably did not know about that, or if he even felt it.

Ron was handsome, she had to admit, knowing about the Weasley's genes. They were economically poor, but their genes made people overlook that. Only certain purebloods cared to note their economic standing, her mother included, but even she had to admit that they were handsome.

Daphne could not care less about that honestly, but then she thought about more things that intrigued her about the tallest redhead. He had changed attitudes towards her from one minute to the other. She knew about Ron's hatred towards her house, so she had to wonder what had made him change his mind so quickly. Maybe he thought that if his brothers could talk to her, so could he? Or maybe he had a talk with some other people and had changed his mind? Daphne could not answer any of these questions, leaving her more intrigued by him.

Ron was funny, hilarious even, and this she had known before. She had heard, in years before, many hushed comments Ron had made to Harry and she had to repress a chuckle more than once. His twin brothers were the known pranksters of the school, but they were not funny like Ron, he had his own brand of comedy, quick-witted in order to alleviate tension or just make someone laugh.

The thought of this made Daphne smile unconsciously and blush harder as she recalled her snort in front of Ron. How had she let that happen? At her house snorting was fine as long as it was with Astoria or her father, but in front of her mother it meant a cold look from her. It was the most unladylike thing a witch could do, but she could not help it, she thought the Malfoy comment was absurd yet true, so she snorted. Ron in turn, made no comment about that.

Daphne did not realize that she had shown so many emotions in her face, which made Tracey wake up from her own daze and look at her. She nudged at Theo and pointed at Daphne with her chin to make Theo know to look at Daphne. He then smirked and left her side in order to leave the two friends alone.

"Why are you blushing Daph?" Tracey asked teasingly, as she came closer to Daphne.

Daphne on the other hand kept walking, not really paying attention, her head going a mile a minute. Not until she was actually nudged by Tracey had Daphne realized what had happened.

"What?" Daphne asked as if waking up, which in turn made Tracey giggle a bit.

"Where were you Daphy?" Tracey asked smugly and curious at the same time.

This only made Daphne blush a bit and she hurried towards their first class faster, wanting to run away from this conversation.

"Daphne Greengrass!" Tracey all but yelled at Daphne and grabbed her arm in order to stop her.

"Tracey we are going to be late for class" Daphne said lamely, but still stopped.

"Then tell me what is in your head or I won't stop pestering you until you tell me!" Tracey said with an air of amusement but also worry.

"I will tell you eventually Trace, but I have to think about it first…is that alright?" Daphne said defeated, but also wanted to think about her feelings.

"…And if I tell you, you have to tell me about what happened yesterday that has got you like a lovesick girl with Theo" Daphne bargained, an eyebrow lifted in amusement.

Tracey coughed from shock and blushed but nodded as a response.

* * *

The Slytherin trio proceeded towards their first class, Transfiguration, which they shared with Ravenclaw. Daphne was back to her normal self in class, wanting to pay attention in order to distract herself and to not give away her feelings towards her classmates. Malfoy seemed to want to capture her attention in order to speak to her, but she ignored it.

Malfoy seemed to have a thing for her, she suspected. Her mother would be pleased at that, but Daphne would not for the life of her agree to marry that git. She hated Malfoy and could not even speak to him without gagging. If he could just stop being a git, she suspected they could be friends, but knowing how Malfoy boasted about the Dark Lord's return, she figured he was bad news. Her mother insisted on Malfoy purely because of her own interests, not for how Daphne felt.

The lesson seemed to drag a bit at the end, not because it was not interesting, but because Daphne remembered that their next class would be shared with Gryffindor. Therefore, Daphne started to feel nervous about seeing a certain redhead. She had no idea why, but she just felt nervous about just looking at him.

She knew they would not talk, or even sit together, but just thinking about hearing him or looking at him made her feel queasy. She had no idea why those feelings suddenly emerged, but she was curious to explore them.

As soon as she entered the greenhouse in which Herbology was held, Daphne could feel the air shift, and a certain pull towards a part of the room. She did not dare to look towards that direction, because it would give Tracey and Theo an indication about her thoughts.

In Transfiguration, Daphne had to come up with a plan to not tell Tracey about her feelings, since she herself could not figure them out. She knew it was wrong to lie to Tracey, but she could not get her hopes up, so she would figure out a lie to tell her later.

"Hello class…" Professor Sprout started talking and giving out the instructions for the day. Apparently, they would work with a new plant, and they would need tools in order to work with it.

Pairing up with Blaise as usual they went towards their workstation. Theo and Tracey quickly following.

"Would you mind bringing the tools while I clean and prepare the plant Daphne?" Blaise asked her and she nodded with a smile.

As she walked towards the backroom where the tools were kept, she remembered about her date to Hogsmede with Blaise and her eyes widened. She had completely forgot about that! She had her thoughts in another place and felt bad towards Blaise.

She could try on her Hogsmede visit to venture into feeling something for him, convincing herself to give Blaise a chance. Deciding that it would be the best for her and her mother's relationship to date a safe prospector until she decided what to do next. And who knows? Maybe she would feel something towards Blaise in the end.

Daphne was in her own head that she did not notice a redheaded boy walk next to her and nudge her a bit as they entered the backroom where the tools where held. She woke up from her reverie and looked towards him in shock as he started gathering up shears, gardening scissors and many other tools.

She stood there in shock for a bit and looked at him as he bent down, his arms long and sleeves rolled up in order to work. He had his tie untied a bit and his shirt was untucked from the sides a bit. He looked handsome in Daphne's eyes, that is why she stood rooted a for a bit.

Ron did not notice but smirked at her, almost as if in secret, which made her smile too and blush. Two could play at this subtle game.

Daphne went and pretended to trip, nudging Ron a bit at the end and making him drop one of the shears.

"Sorry" Daphne said sheepishly, as Ron looked in amusement. He then grabbed one of the shears she was aiming for and grabbed it, putting it in a higher shelf she would not reach.

"No problem" Ron said and winked, chuckled, and left whistling a tune. Ron had won that round of subtle games.

Daphne stood there with her mouth agape and a blush creeping in.

"Need help?" Justin Finch-Fletchey said to Daphne, waking her up from her daze.

"What? Oh yes, could you pass me those shears please? They are a bit high up I'm afraid" Daphne said and smiled at the Hufflepuff.

He thought nothing of it and passed her the shears.

"The nerve of that…that… _man_!" Daphne whispered, but her insides were jumping slightly. A new giddy feeling had emerged from her as she walked back to class, her tools in hand and walked happily towards Blaise.

"We are ready to begin Daphne" Blaise said as Daphne came closer, Theo and Tracey looking at their interaction closely. Daphne smiled at him and rolled up her sleeves ready to work.

Daphne worked hard, doing everything as Blaise indicated and followed his lead. They were good partners actually, so Daphne had something to hope for in their upcoming Hogsmede visit.

Suddenly she decided to look left towards were Ron was and she felt floored, her hopes fell and she faltered in her work, accidentally cutting her hand a bit.

Hermione Granger was working with Ron, but what made her insides chill was seeing her have a hand on his back the whole time. Ron looked happy to be working with her, and at ease.

She of course had heard rumors about their little love spats, but she thought that it was just them arguing and being normal friends. But, seeing them now, she saw that the bookworm was actually flirting with Ron. And he seemed happy with her, talking and making her laugh.

This seemed to wake Daphne up from her dream and realized that she had no claim as to whom Ron decided to spend his time with, they knew nothing of each other. They had one conversation in detention, it was time to get back to reality and accept that the spark she felt was in her imagination, a tale she only read in novels.

Dejected, she continued to work with Blaise, her icy façade now in place. Blaise did not think anything of it, other than Daphne now seemed interested in the plant, whilst Tracey and Theo gave looks to each other, knowing that Daphne was in her Ice Queen persona.

* * *

"Daphy…is everything alright?" Tracey asked at the end of the day, going back towards their dormitory rooms.

"Of course, Trace, what could have happened to me?" Daphne smiled to Tracey, her smile not reaching her grey eyes.

"Is just that today you seemed happy and excited in the morning, and after Herbology you reverted back to being cold and distant" Tracey explained, sitting down in Daphne's bed as they had arrived to their dorm.

"Nothing is going on Trace…it's just" Daphne sighed as she was about to lie to her friend. She pretended to be worried, not really showing her disappointment at seeing the Gryffindor table.

"I am nervous about the Hogsmede visit, since I don't know what to do about Blaise" Daphne said, and as expected the expression in Tracey's face turned from worried to understanding.

Daphne hated not telling her best friend the truth about how she felt since detention the day before. How the disappointment about seeing a boy she knew nothing about talking closely to the school's brightest witch shook Daphne more than she cared to admit.

"You just had to say something Daphy!" Tracey said suddenly in a better mood and stared at the clock suddenly.

"Daph, I would love to continue this later when you come back but you will be late to detention if you don't go now!" Tracey said to her and stood up with her.

"Oh…" Daphne said as she realized what time it was, suddenly less eager to go to detention "…yeah, I will see you later so you can tell me as well what is happening with you too" Daphne smiled and laughed when she saw the wide-eyed look that Tracey had.

Daphne hurried towards the classroom in which she had detention, not really thinking about anything other than what she had said to Tracey, lying to her. But since Daphne thought that the situation with Ron was imaginary, it made no difference if she told her or not. It would come to pass as soon as she was done with detention.

"Hey Daphne!" Ron said, waking Daphne yet again from another daze. She seemed to be doing that a lot this year, she hoped it would not be a common occurrence anytime soon.

Daphne looked at Ron and was surprised to see him working already on her side of the room. Ron looked as great as ever, just as she saw him at the backroom of the Herbology greenhouse. If only, his hair looked a little unrulier, which only added to his boyish charm. She had to smile in spite of herself, and then reprimanded herself for thinking like that.

"Hello Ronald" Daphne said curtly, and went to her side of the room, avoiding as much eye contact with him as ever.

Ron winced when Daphne said his name, which made her frown a bit. She had heard Granger call him like that, was it wrong of her to assume he liked that?

"Please don't call me that, I hate it when I get called by my full name, it makes me think I'm in trouble" Ron said, wincing a bit comically to show his distaste for his name.

"But I hear that Granger calls you that" Daphne said out of the blue, berating herself for playing that card, but also, she was genuinely curious as to why the bookworm had exclusive rights to his name.

"Yeah, I don't like it either when she calls me that" Ron admitted with a laugh "It usually annoys me and reminds me of my mother" Ron finished and offered Daphne a jar to sort the ingredients set on the table.

Daphne did not know why she smiled at knowing that he did not like it when Granger called her that.

"You seem to run into trouble a lot then Ron?" Daphne said, twirling her hair a bit unconsciously. Tracey would be laughing if she saw her flirt with this guy.

Daphne stopped then and turned with her cheeks a little red. She berated herself for acting like this, she had said before that she knew nothing of this boy and had no claim to him.

But something inside of her told her that she should act this way with him, and she liked the reactions she got from him.

Ron took a little bit of time to really look at her before answering, which made her squirm a little bit. She felt as if she was being put under a magnifying glass, she felt vulnerable. Then Ron smiled and came closer to her, almost eye to eye and smirked.

"You have no idea Miss Greengrass" Ron said and stood a bit there in front of her, waiting for her reaction with an amused glance, and when she gasped and smiled shyly, he went back to working on the detention task.

To Daphne, those few seconds felt like hours. She had never seen such beautiful eyes, and suddenly she felt a surge of magic come between them as Ron went back to work. Rom seemed to stop too, as he clearly felt that connection between them. Ron almost dropped his jar and shuddered.

"Wow Daphne did you feel that?" Ron asked as he came back from his thoughts.

Daphne looked at the clock, suddenly awakening too, and saw that about five whole minutes seemed to pass.

"Yes Ron…" Daphne whispered as she came closer to him "…I sure did"

"What does that mean?" Ron asked, coming closer to Daphne, forgetting the work and suddenly really interested in Daphne.

"I don't know Ron. But I am glad I am not imagining things" Daphne said, only a few steps from Ron, her face clearly shaken but with a smile gracing her mouth. Ron kept looking towards her mouth as if transfixed and had to gulp before looking back at her eyes. Daphne felt a little pride at seeing the effect she seemed to have now.

"We should talk a while after detention don't you think?" Ron said, seeming worried that she would answer negatively.

"Yes, that would be for the best" Daphne said, confident that Ron knew what the thing between them meant.

"Sparkling Touch" whispered Ron with a goofy smile, making Daphne laugh and look at him warmly.

Old legends in Magical Britain seemed blown out of proportion. They talked about great battles between monsters and wizards. About creatures that do not exist doing wonderful and unimaginable feats. One of the oldest stories was _The Princess and the Lion_ , a story of love and soul mates.

This was a story that little witches loved to hear over and over again until it was ingrained in their tiny brains, whilst boys thought it ridiculous yet a little charming. A tale about how a handsome wizard was trapped in his Animagus form, that of a lion, and how he spent eternity roaming the world in order to come back from that form. Nothing helped, until he felt "a pull" towards a wizarding village in the old London. In that village, the crowds ran from the lion that seemed to be wild in town. All but one beautiful woman who stayed behind and walked towards the lion, a confident gaze on her and wonder at seeing the lion. The lion stopped right in front of her, and touching her hand with his snout, "sparkles" flew out of the touch, and the spell broke and he was back to his handsome self.

The story of this "sparkling touch" and "the pull" described in the story was passed through generations in the magical community, in order to explain soulmates or really strong attraction between two magical cores.

"Sparkling Touch" Daphne said as she went back to work, only with a smile on her face, and a new purpose for the near future.

* * *

 **Here you go! I have a plan for this story and it will work. If you are wondering how Hermione and Blaise will come into play, they will not be evil or anything, this story bashes only on the characters that are bashed in the book, plus some others.**

 **Thank you for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello! I am sorry for the delay but life got in the way. This chapter is long overdue and I hope you enjoy it. This story is not dead, as well as the other story I have. I will continue them now as regularly as I can. Thank you for the feedback and it is all taken into account. Happy New Year!**

 **J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter. I do not.**

* * *

As both Daphne and Ron continued to work, without noticing they started to inch closer and closer to each other. They were practically working with the same jars, both with a lot going through their minds. They did not talk, they could not talk. Their minds were going a mile a minute, both yearning for detention to be over. Snape seemed to go in and out of the room from time to time, so they would have to wait for detention to be over.

Ron worked silently, his hands doing the work, his mind elsewhere. A side of Ron's mind was focusing on Hermione mostly, how bad he felt that he could not feel the same as her. This thing with Daphne was magic, not in the sense that they should get married right away or that it was instant, but in the sense that there was a literal magic pull that he felt from her and would like to explore. Only a few instances had they interacted this year, and he felt more at ease as with anyone, including his female best friend. He would have to find a way to resolve his feelings for her right away.

The other side of his mind was worrying about the war, how he still had his doubts about Daphne's family. They were not under the Ministry's shadow, but still they could have helped in some other way. Her parents were bankers, something that Ron knew little about. Ron needed to know about the Greengrass' stance on the war. He would have to investigate on his own, maybe dip into the library to know more. This would attract attention since he was known to not go into the library on his own, so maybe with either Harry or Hermione.

Daphne on the other hand was trying to focus on her own feelings for the boy next to him. She was attracted to him; a literal magical attraction did not hurt as well. She felt as though her arms were pulsing with magic, itching towards Ron's direction. She had never felt that in her life, a reason to not hide behind her Ice Queen persona. Her father taught her to think critically, even though she did not want to go into the family business.

"It will do you well in life to seem nonchalant, to not show emotion, because then…you hold all the cards and could move any situation to your advantage," Jonathan Greengrass had said to his eldest daughter. She was young when her father said this, but nonetheless she had listened and done well.

When Daphne first arrived at Hogwarts she realized quickly that in Slytherin she was nothing more than a price to marry. Boys from all ages tried to get court her, to get to her family's money. She then acted like her father had taught her, and the Ice Queen persona was born. She seemed aloof to all situations, just responding in a simple yes or no to any questions she encountered from possible suitors, never meeting their eyes. This seemed to do the trick, the many boys then retreated, thinking her weird, and moved on to the next price.

Tracey and Theo were the only ones that really stood beside Daphne, knew her true persona, nothing could go wrong if she was with them. Blaise seemed to keep to himself always, therefore Daphne could be a little more comfortable around him.

Then this situation with one Ronald Weasley happened. Ron did not intend to break her persona, he had just infuriated her at the start by being a git and she felt her mask give away. This was all it took for him to break her persona and show her true self to a man. Ron did not intend to do it, he had just done it.

The hour passed by quickly and they were done with the set of jars for the day. They still had a lot to go through but they figured if they worked this way, they would be done on time.

"Detention over. Out now." Snape said suddenly as he entered the room, making both students jolt in surprise.

They put their work down and hurried towards the exit together. Snape sat down without giving them a glance and got to work on grading.

"Students are getting worse each year Lily." Snape muttered to himself, to seemingly no one, the sounds of different potions bubbling his only companions.

* * *

As the door closed behind the students they just stared at each other. Both seemed hesitate to speak first, so they just stood there in front of each other. Daphne took a chance to look him up and down, to analyze him.

Ron had his shirt untucked, as usual, the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to his elbows. His tie loosened and a few buttons of his shirt opened. It was early in the year so sweaters could be avoided at this time of the night. His trousers seemed to not fit him properly, his ankles showing a bit. His hair was trimmed as it was early in the year, but she suspected that by the end of winter it would be longer and unrulier. Ron was uniquely handsome as the other Weasley's were she then realized. His electric blue eyes, which she was starting to like a lot, seemed to do the same to her and she felt suddenly shy but could do nothing to hide as it would probably scare him. Freckles then seemed to disappear in a red blush that took over him, and his gaze on her stopped.

Ron could not speak, he was not one to initiate conversations or at least intimate ones. He just stared at Daphne, waiting for her to do something or say something. Ron then noticed that she was eyeing him as if analyzing him, not in a strange way, just looking him over. Ron then decided that if she was doing that, then he could too.

Daphne had her shirt tucked in her skirt, which seemed to fit her perfectly, probably new fitted robes. The uniforms at Hogwarts did little to aid the girls' body, not really revealing their bodies, just making them a little unflattering really. Ron supposed that was the point, to hide them from rowdy boys from school.

Daphne's hair, honey blond Ron decided, was up in a ponytail in order for her to work freely. It accentuated the features from her face. She was pretty, not overtly so, but still pretty. Her grey eyes normally aloof, now held full emotions. Wonder was the most present, and if he was imagining things, then longing was there in the mix of emotions. His ears then started to heat up and his blush became ever present.

"We should go to an unused classroom to talk," Daphne suddenly said, not really knowing where the sentence came from. Ron only nodded and started to think of one available.

"I know of one that is close to the Astronomy Tower, but it would have to be quick, since curfew is approaching and I don't have Harry's means to get around school undetected." Ron said, not really thinking, not knowing that the comment made Daphne raise an eyebrow.

"Lead the way." Daphne then said, following Ron who seemed to be already on his way. The cordial thing would have been to offer his arm to her and lead the way, but she supposed that a Slytherin and a Gryffindor arm in arm would attract unwanted attention if they encountered anyone.

The way to the Astronomy Tower was quiet, only the sound of their footsteps heard in the quiet halls. Some of the portraits looked their way, murmuring to themselves at the sight of a ginger Gryffindor and a blonde Slytherin together. Other portraits seemed to not pay any attention to them, some even sleeping.

"This way," Ron said suddenly, grabbing Daphne's hand quickly and leading her towards a door next to the stairwell, a room reserved to some Herbology lessons. Herbology was usually taught at the greenhouses in Hogwarts, but from time to time there would be a lecture on some dangerous plants and this classroom was used.

"Brilliant, you are." Daphne said smirking, surprised at Ron's quick thinking.

The door opened with a simple _Alohomora_ and then they both entered, hands still together. A simple blue fireball spell, courtesy of Hermione's teaching, and the room was illuminated Ron seemed to notice their conjoined hands and blushed hard, removing his hand quickly.

"Sorry I did not mean to offend you by taking your hand without permission Ms. Greengrass. I would like to also apologize for not offering my arm to lead you earlier, but I did not want to raise any suspicions." Ron said with a slight vow, his cheeks and ears red as his hair. His mother would kill him if she knew that Ron had touched a lady of her stature without her permission.

To say Daphne was surprised would be an understatement. Ron offered an apology, and a cordial one at that. Maybe he was not as alienated to the old customs as she thought. It did not help that she could still feel his hand on hers, pulsating with magic and heat.

"Apology accepted Mr. Weasley," Daphne said, quickly composing herself. "but I think I agreed to you calling me Daphne and I could call you Ron. Formalities are really overrated nowadays." Daphne finished with a genuine smile and crossed her arms.

"I know Daphne, but I know what I did was wrong to a lady such as yourself. My mother taught me to always respect a woman, and she would kill me if she knew I did what I did." Ron said, clearly still embarrassed.

"No harm was done Ron, just stop worrying, I will not order my father to duel you or anything. Besides, I am not so fond of the old ways as my family seems to be. So, let's just discuss what we know happened on detention. _Sparkling touch_..." Daphne said, leaving her sentence open ended in order for Ron to continue.

"We both know what sparkling touch means. It means that two individuals have great magical chemistry, the stories we were told embellish it in order for them to sell books. I hope you know this as well," Ron paused, and continued once Daphne nodded.

"I won't deny that my magic feels a pulse or even a "pull" when I am next to you. I hope I am not the only crazy one," Ron stopped once again, and continued once Daphne shook her head, hearing him with intent.

"So, what I would propose to do is to tell each other about our lives in order to know each other more. There is a definite magical attraction working here, so I would like to see if we could start as friends and maybe see where that leads us." Ron finished and then leaned on a desk, his arms holding most of his weight.

"I think that we should do that as well, I already feel as we can be friends too. We have two problems though…" Daphne said, getting closer to Ron as she held two fingers up.

"One: Granger and Blaise. Granger seems to want something with you and it is making it so obvious that it hurts." Daphne said and by Ron's reaction, she could tell that he knew this as well. It irked her a little bit, but she put that feeling of jealousy down.

"Blaise asked me to Hogsmede this weekend, I did not really want to go, but my mother pressured me to find a suitor this year to enact a contract and Blaise is a good friend of mine…" Daphne trailed off, waiting for Ron's reaction. Ron seemed to frown at this information but nodded for her to continue.

"I was going to see how things with him worked out, but I am more interested in how this would play out between us Ron. I want to be friends first, I will hold that above everything…" Daphne stopped, Ron nodded with a smile and she made to continue but was stopped by Ron.

"Hermione asked me to Hogsmede as well, and I was going to do the same thing you would with Blaise. She has been dropping some heavy hints that she likes me, but I think of her maybe more as a sibling or a cousin. If things worked out then I would move from there." Ron stopped and waited for Daphne's reaction.

Daphne nodded, a small frown on her face and her eyes showing a little jealousy, but Ron thought he had imagined seeing that.

"Then what we are agreeing to is to go to Hogsmede with our respective dates and telling them that we thank them for their attention, but we do not feel the same as them?" Daphne said to Ron, a little hope in her tone.

When Ron nodded Daphne smiled and blushed. They had practically agreed to court each other the proper way. She would hug him but she was afraid that it would be too much for now.

"Ehem…And the second problem?" Ron asked, his ears feeling warm, eager to distract his feeling of elation at what the hidden significance of this "meeting" of sorts meant.

"Right…" Daphne said shaking her head as if to waking up.

"We need to meet privately outside of detention. Snape enters the room to much and we cannot talk properly then. So, we need to find a time and place in order to not bring attention to ourselves." Daphne said to Ron, who as she talked, had already started thinking about something.

"Harry is having detention with Umbridge same hours we do, and Hermione is waiting for us in the Common Room after in order to talk. Right now, I will have to come up with something in order for her not to ask many questions. Maybe something about Snape wanting to talk to me or McGonagall stopping me to ask about my parents. Harry practices every day in the pitch with the team, and I was trying to practice in order to be Keeper but I feel is better to try out next year. Hermione then goes to the library and I am usually playing chess with someone in the Common Room then, or trying to start my homework. So, any time between Harry's practice I am good to meet." Ron said, spouting his thoughts, letting Daphne see his analytical mind at work. She was surprised with this, thinking that Ron had a way with analyzing situations. Daphne could only nod at him, secretly astonished with him.

"And you?" Ron asked her, hopeful that they could meet.

"I can meet anytime you can, I need to tell only my friends that I am in the library studying. I do that most afternoons anyways. So, we can meet somewhere, but where?" Daphne asked, wondering if Ron somehow had a more intimate knowledge of the school.

"How about right now we meet by the lake? The weather is warm enough to be enjoyable, and from there we can go to our detention. Then on the winter we will have to change locations inside the castle because the teachers give more lectures. I will let you know as we go." Ron finished and looked expectantly at Daphne.

"Perfect. After classes we can go to the lake on the other side, it seems quieter there, and we can speak freely. Then we go to detention and go to our separate Common Rooms." Daphne finished and stood up, motioning for Ron to do the same and went towards the doors.

"Daphne, wait!" Ron said as he stood up and got closer to Daphne. Daphne turned around and looked up to Ron's face. He seemed much taller when he was really close.

"I am glad we can get to know each other better." Ron said honestly with a smile, brightening up the dim room.

Daphne immediately felt her insides melt and an equally bright smile appeared on her face. She blushed and dipped her head in embarrassment, not wanting Ron to see the effect his statement had on her.

"Let's go Daphne. You leave first and I will wait until you disappear and I will go. I don't want anyone to find out right now, please not be offended. Our house rivalry is big enough as it is, and I am the most vocal about it, I apologize for that too. Damn…I have to do things a bit better don't I?" Ron finished with a little chuckle, opening the door for Daphne.

Daphne just smirked and shook her head lightly, amused at his antics. He was cute when he rambled on, she thought. Daphne then went towards the hall going towards her section of the castle.

Ron watched as she disappeared from his sight and waited a bit until he thought no one would be in the halls. He then proceeded to get out towards his own Common Room's direction.

"Mr. Weasley a moment please!" Ron heard a voice behind him say. Ron halted and turned around to find McGonagall looking at him.

"Shit" Ron muttered, clearly expecting to be admonished. He smiled and went towards the Transfiguration professor.

"Yes Professor?" Ron asked, trying to seem nonchalant.

"What are you doing here almost before curfew? Not getting into trouble like your brothers or your friend Mr. Potter, I suppose?" McGonagall asked, a serious look on her face.

"Not at all professor…" Ron said quickly thinking and coming up with an idea "…just sending a letter to my parents about the coming Hogsmede visit. I need their signature since I forgot to ask it over the summer." Ron hoped that what he said would be enough to distract her, relying on the fact that she thought Ron had forgot to ask for permission.

"Ah I see Mr. Weasley, very well…" McGonagall said not seeming to stop and motioning to him to walk in the direction he was going "...tell me now then. How is Molly doing? I haven't had the chance to visit or have a cup of tea this summer…" McGonagall went on and on, and Ron answered her questions along the way to the Common Room.

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Ron entered the Common Room after leaving McGonagall and realized how tired he was. He hoped that Daphne got safely to hers, hoping that she would not get any questions as to where she was. He looked around and saw that only Hermione was there, obviously waiting for him.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley. Where were you right now?" Hermione said, in a tone reminiscent of his mother Ron just realized. Ron then felt something that made him change his point of view completely towards Hermione. He felt attracted to her because it reminded him of his mother, weirdly enough. He thought he wanted someone just like Molly Weasley, but he was floored to find out that he did not. He smiled internally and cheered up at the thought of him moving on his childish antics, well, one aspect of them at least.

"After my detention McGonagall stopped me to ask me about my parents 'Mione. That's all" Ron said with his hands up in defense, honestly not wanting to fight when he was this tired.

"Oh…" Hermione said a little embarrassed "…Fine then. Then come here and tell me about your detention with Greengrass, I want to know more about what you do there." Hermione said as she grabbed his arm in order for them to sit. She automatically grabbed his hand and started rubbing.

To Ron, the touch felt alien, it felt awkward for him and wondered if it was the same to Hermione. He needed the weekend of Hogsmede to come quickly in order to stop this from going any further.

"Well, we do not do anything more than organize Snape's many ingredient cabinets…" Ron explained to Hermione all he had to do, careful not to mention anything about Daphne. Hermione would be suspicious if he mentioned her at all.

"I wish I could stay all night talking but I am falling asleep as I speak 'Mione. I hope you understand?" Ron said, careful not to offend her, he wanted to end this in good terms so he would have to act accordingly.

"Of course, have a good night's sleep Ron." Hermione said and pecked him on the cheek. Ron did not blush but did smile at Hermione.

"Night 'Mione." Ron said and stood up, hiding his yawn behind his hand. He then went up to his dorm room, noting that Harry was not there just before falling to his bed, not bothering to change. Sleep quickly claimed him, his last thought being of one blonde witch.

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Daphne arrived to the Slytherin's dungeons without a hitch. She encountered no one in the halls and she was grateful for that since she had a smile on her face the whole way back. She thought she was floating and had to wait a bit to compose herself before entering the Common Room. She opened the room and saw the entire house gathered around Malfoy. Tracey and Theo saw her enter and quickly motioned for her to stand beside them. No one seemed to pay her any mind as they surrounded Malfoy.

"…That is why this year will be the best for this House. We will try our best to stop the other houses to win the House Cup. Father will aid me with the tools necessary to win the Quidditch tournament this year. Umbridge works for him so Slytherin will have the advantage this year, already humiliating Potter on the first week? Brilliant…" Malfoy rambled and Daphne was quick to drone him out.

She turned to Tracey and nodded for her to accompany her to the dorms. Most students were leaving Malfoy's little gathering, dismissing him quickly as he started to boast and sing his own praises.

"Good night Theo." Daphne said teasingly as she waited for Tracey and Theo to finish their embrace and goodnight kiss.

"Night Daph." Theo replied dumbly, not responding to Daphne's tease, and went towards his own dorms.

Tracey and Daphne said nothing as they entered the dorm. Each doing their nightly routine, applying night creams and everything that they normally did.

"So why were you late today Daphy?" Tracey asked as she settled on her bed waiting for her friend, worried that something had happened.

"I went with Professor Flitwick to help me with today's charm assignment. I had difficulty with it yesterday and wanted his help. It was quick and easy." Daphne said, not looking at her friend as she applied moisturizer to her legs. She was proud of her legs and hoped that a certain wizard would see them someday. She blushed quickly but hid it well.

"Stupid Umbridge, making it more difficult to us this year. I wonder when…" Tracey went on, and Daphne quickly stopped paying attention. Tracey tended to rant before feeling tired and going to sleep. Apparently, venting her anger relaxed Tracey before falling deeply asleep.

Daphne only smiled as she felt drowsy as well. The next day would be interesting and she hoped that a certain redheaded wizard would make it special.

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 **Here you go! One more chapter! Thank you if you have read this story and liked it and followed it. I will continue it.**

 **Please review!**


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